deneigement

there are some things quebec does well. very well even. i know, i'm just as shocked as you are but it's true. in the wake of the first winter "storm", montreal has proven itself to me.

if you've ever lived in a city when snow hits, you know how supremely frustrating it can be. should you be one of the lucky ones with underground parking (thank god!) then you should be extremely grateful (which i am). because for the many unlucky folks, this is what happens: 15cm of snow falls (this, in itself, is not so bad. snow generally being light and fluffy). snow gets a bit melty on the road because of all the cars driving on it. snow starts to get thick and wet. snowplow drives by and rams all of the heavy wet snow against your car at 4am so when you wake up and need to head to work, well, you can't.

to be fair, drivers often have it coming. montreal has a lot (a lot!) of signage pertaining to snow removal. when to park where, which side of the street at which time, free parking during snow removal hours, etc. if you chose to ignore this, you do so at your own risk. the plows/snow removal crews have no mercy for your tiny little car stuck in the snow and will proceed to encrust you in it as best they can. plows have better things to do then worry about your car.

and this is where montreal's efficiency becomes amazing (yes, i said it). the "deneigement" process is an incredibly well organized ballet, leaving the city streets and sidewalks clear of snow until the next major dumping. first, the plow. he comes at specific times (noted on the street signs) and will crust you into your car if you chose to park there. then depending on which street you live on (main roads first, secondary roads, uhm, second, etc), the mini plow comes by and pushes all the snow from the sidewalk and road into the middle of the street (i know this sounds counterintuitive but trust me). then, the fun. if you've chosen to leave your car in the street, an irritating siren will sound (for about 1 minute) by the tow truck who drives ahead of the next crew. you don't move your car, they move it for you. at your expense (and trust me, they do it quickly). once said car has been relocated, the massive dump-style trucks are followed by little snow-blower plows who blow all the snow into the back of the truck. and poof! it's gone. when the truck gets full, it drives off to the nearest dump centre (toboggan heaven for kids) while the next truck pulls ahead.

it's astonishing really. in less then 4 days following the snow storm, the city streets and sidewalks are clear as though no snow dropped from the sky. snow removal crews work non-stop until the bulk of the streets are done, at which point they slow it down some.

i read in the paper today that it takes some 3000 employees in 2200 snowplow-blowers following 1000 trucks 4 days to clear 4100km of roads and 6500km of sidewalks in the city. this process can cost in the 17 000 000 dollar region (yes, that many zeros). and while it feels a bit excessive, i can't help but feel happy when i don't have to trudge through 4 foot snowbanks on my walk to work or take my car off-roading to get out of the building.

at least some of my tax dollars do something good in this province
xo